The Trinket Thief
by 753demigodwarlock
Summary: Detective Annabeth Chase is undeniably the best detective working for Olympus PD. She's solved hundreds of cases and is a force to be reckoned with. In all her years working for Olympus PD, she's never stumped with a case for too long. That is until she's put on the Trinket Thief's case. The Trinket Thief and his team, the Half-Bloods, have been evading capture for months. Cop AU!


**Hello my lovely readers!** **So The Trinket Thief is going to be a multi-chapter fic and (obviously) this is the first chapter. This is kind of a spin-off from a fic I wrote a looong time ago called You've Stolen My Heart (Which can be found in my collection of one shots for pjo). It's not really a prequel or direct continuation of it, it's just in the same world/the same idea. There are a whole bunch of ships (pretty much all canon), not just Percabeth. This is my take on a cop AU. I hope you like it! Please feel free to leave a review!**

 **-Lock**

* * *

Eckers St. was known as the "buy on for the price of two" street for its infamously overpriced items. Charlie's pet store sold expensive dog food, Bloom's sold expensive vases, and so on. The stores were owned by rich families who didn't need the extra money they made by setting ridiculously high prices for mundane objects one could buy at different stores for more than half the price. Because of its proximity to the "sketchier" parts of the neighborhood, all the stores were protected with the most advanced, high-tech security. No one had been able to successfully robbed any of the stores before. Until now.

"Talk to me, G-man. What have we got?" a man in black asked. He was sitting on the roof of Bloom's bouquet looking at the store across of it through a pair of night vision goggles.

"Alright, we've got some guards and gates behind a steel, locked door blocking every entrance. Inside there are lasers everywhere and the floor is touch sensitive, so if you trigger them then the operation is over, police will be here in 5 maybe 10 minutes," G-man replied. He was in a black truck that was parked two blocks away from Eckers St. He stood in front of a computer displaying the interior of Bobby's convenience store. Repair Boy had hacked into the security cameras, so the team could see exactly what the cameras could.

"We can handle the doors," a woman dressed in a smart business suit said. She was walking down the street opposite the store. To passerbyers it looked like she was coming back from a hard day at the office; she looked harmless.

"But what about the floors? What are we going to do fly in there?" the man on the roof said. His sea-green eyes scanned the ground below, looking for any possible conflicts they had not planned for. The team had triple checked that the area was clear, but it didn't hurt to be cautious.

"Not fly, but climb." This came from a man next to a nearby phone line pole. He was searching through the toolbox next to him, seemingly in search of the right tool to fix the phone pole. "Luckily for you I asked Ghost King about any surprises we might have, and I came prepared. "

"Everyone in position?" G-man asked.

There was a chorus of conformation that rang through the comms.

"Alright, the cameras are going to be down for 20 minutes. You guys know what to do.," G-man said as he typed away on the computer. He typed a few more codes and clicked the enter key.

"It's showtime."

The operation went smoothly. Beauty Queen crossed the street and approached the guards posted at Bobby's. Her ruse was simple but effective. She'd asked for a phone and they'd gladly searched for one. While they were distracted she stole one of their key cards and slid it to her right, where Repair Boy was waiting with his toolbox. Opening the gate was simple enough, Repair Boy used a simple lock picking kit and it was opened in seconds. Unfortunately for the guards, the gate went up too roughly and made a loud sound when it hit the ceiling, so Beauty Queen had to knock them out.

The steel door was a little more tricky. It required ID, a password, and handprint. They used the ID Beauty Queen was able to get, and used an original Valdez Gadget to get the 6 digit password. The handprint required to open the door was the manager's, who obviously was not present. Because of Ghost King, they knew this beforehand, so Beauty Queen was able to get the manager's fingerprints. Repair Boy had transferred them to a glove, so whoever wore it had the manager's fingerprints at his disposal.

After the doors were opened, Trinket Thief was sent in to retrieve the targets. He quickly got off the roof and meet the other two members of his team at the door. Repair Boy gave him gloves and boots that stuck to the wall, another Valdez Gadget. He was able to climb to the electrical panel that controlled all the security, and plug in the virus Repair Boy had made earlier that shuts off security without alarming the police. It was a walk in the park after that.

The team did this 5 different times at 5 different stores. The amount of work depended on the level of security each store had, but in the end they cleared the stores of chewing gum. There wasn't a single one left in the stores. At the end of the night they tipped the police and drove back to their base.

Now, they wait for the manhunt.

"I'm back!" Piper shouted as she walked into their base, the Argo II, carrying 3 boxes of pizza.

She set the box down on the dining table and walked to the hall where their rooms were located. She knocked on the first door to her right. It was a simple brown, wooden door with vines and flowers carved around the edges. The door opened, and she came face to face with Grover Underwood, aka G-man. He was their "man in the chair" and the best tracker she ever met. He was on the phone and looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"I brought pizza," she answered his unasked question in a soft voice, not wanting to interrupt him more than she already did.

He only nodded and closed the door

Piper moved on to the door to her left. This one, unlike Grover's, was more decorated. It was painted blue and had seashells painted on it. When she knocked, a loud "come in" was her answer. She opened the door to find Percy Jackson sitting at his desk on his laptop.

"What's up, Pipes?" the infamous Trinket Thief asked without looking up from the screen.

"I brought some pizza for lunch," she said.

"Cool. Did you-"

"Bring enough for Nico and Will? Of course, I did who do you think I am?" she asked with a smirk.

"The greatest Beauty Queen the world has ever seen," he replied. He looked up at her, sea-green eyes glinting with amusement.

Piper shook her head and laughed. "Stop stalking your little detective and come down to eat."

Percy's face flushed. "I'm not stalking I'm . . . researching," he protested.

"Is that what they call it these days?" Piper asked mockingly. Before he could answer she closed the door and continued on to the next door. The next door on her right looked out of place in the cheerful hall. It was made out of [reinforced] steel and required 2 keys, a 6-digit password, an eye scan, a handprint, voice recognition, and a knocking pattern to open it. Or, in moments of an emergency, one could simply turn the door knob 3 times to the left, once to the right, twist up, and right again. If one failed to do so, the door was set to trigger an explosion that would destroy the room and everything inside it. There had been 3 occasions early in the early years as a team when the room had actually exploded. Thankfully nothing and nobody important had died in there. The explosion would only affect that particular room, and the fire could not be put out, It wouldn't fade till it destroyed what it had to. Instead of red flames, the special fire had unique green flames. It's creator had named it Greek Fire.

Piper knocked on the door and smiled up at the little eye hole where the inhabitant of the room was no doubt peering down at her. With some clicks and squeaks, the door opened to reveal a smiling Leo Valdez, the team's Repair Boy. His cheek had a smudge of oil, and he was wiping his hands on a handkerchief, so she had to guess that he had been working on another one of his projects; another original Valdez Gadget.

"Hey, Beauty Queen, whatcha need?" he asked, stepping aside to let her come in.

She shook her head lightly to show him that she didn't want to come in. "I just came to tell you that I brought pizza for lunch."

"I thought I was making lunch," he said.

"You know we love your food, but Nico and Will are coming over in a bit, so we needed quick and easy food," she said. "Plus, it's from Johnny's."

He humphed indignantly and shook his head. "Fine. But only because I love Johnny's." He pointed a warning finger at her. "But I'm cooking for Taco Tuesday."

"'Course you are," Piper laughed. "Wash all the dirt on you and come down to eat.

"Yeah, yeah," he said as he closed the door.

Now that knocks were done, Piper headed back down to the dining room to double check that it was clean enough for their guests. Nico and Will didn't mind a few scattered papers or pencils laying around the Argo II, but Piper didn't like them thinking that they lived in a pig pen. They were professional thieves, they could stay organized if they wanted to.

"Are Nico and Will here yet?" Percy asked as he walked down the stairs.

Piper shook her head. "Not yet. Hey, could you double check that there aren't any plans laying around?"

Percy nodded and left the living room.

Nico di Angelo, otherwise known as the Ghost King, wasn't technically part of their ragtag group, but he was their informant. He knew anything and everything that happened in the Underworld, the darker and sketchier part of the city. He was never on the feild, and the team wanted to keep it that way. He was a great asset, but they wanted him to enjoy his life, graduate from college, spend time with his boyfriend, get a career. They didn't want him to get stuck in misery and misfortune that came with their job.

The ringing of the doorbell drew Piper from the dining room to the door. She checked the peep hole and smiled when she recognized the two college students outside. She quickly unlocked the door and opened it, the smile never leaving her face.

"Welcome to our humble abode!" she exclaimed.

The two looked like complete opposites. One was dressed in black and had a moody and dangerous aura. His hands were stuffed in his pockets with only the band of a bracelet peeking out from around his wrist. His black hair was tied back in an updo to keep it away from his eyes while the rest curling around his jaw. His dark eyes were void of emotion and he kept his expression neutral. Nico di Angelo, the Ghost King of the Underworld, was infamous for his Poker Face.

The young man next to him, on the other hand, wore blue hospital scrubs and, like his nickname suggested, radiated happiness and joy. On of his hands was at his side, and the other rested lightly on his boyfriend's elbow, a bracelet similar to Nico's hung from said arm. His curly hair lay on his head like a fluffy, blond cloud, the only sign of an attempt to keep it tamed was the slight glint of water on his curls. His blue eyes were bright with happiness, and he made no attempt to hide it. There was need to hide emotions around his friends. William Solace, Nico's their Sunshine, provided a nice dose of normalcy in the criminals' lives. But one need not confuse his kindness with weakness. He was skilled with medicine and could just as easily prolong one's suffering instead of relieving it.

"Piper!" Will greated. He moved forward to hug her. "It's good to see you. Sorry about calling in so last minute."

"Don't worry," she reassured. "We're all glad you came."

"Nico! Will!" a voice exclaimed from behind Piper. They turned to see the green-eyed thief walking towards them with a grin. He quickly engulfed Nico in a hug before he could protest and did the same to Will. "How's college? You keeping your grade up?" He asked the two young men.

"Of course we are," Will replied. "Though Nico did get in a fight last week."

Piper's eyes widened. "You what?!"

Nico shrugged it off nonchalantly. "It was just some jerk who was making fun of this kid in my english class. I got annoyed and," his lips curled up into a sly smirk, "my hand slipped."

"Did you at least win?" Leo asked from the doorway of the dining room. He was holding a Pepsi can in left hand while he fiddled with a wire in the other.

"What do you think?" Nico asked. "It took a couple of punches and /bam!/ he was out cold."

"It wasn't that glamorous," Will said from beside him. "He walked into the school's infirmary with a bloody nose and a busted lip."

"You should've seen the other guy," Nico told them slyly.

"Nico, you're supposed to be staying out of trouble not causing it," Grover scolded him. He was walking out of the kitchen with plates in his hands and set them down on the table next to the pizza boxes. "We wouldn't want you catching the wrong kind of attention from dangerous people. Your dad has more enemies than friends."

"Yeah, yeah I know," Nico said, waving away Grover's concern. "Now stop worrying, Will does enough of it already."

"With the things you do sometimes, who wouldn't," Will teased.

Nico scowled at him playfully. He walked over to the dining table and opened the first pizza box. "Just for that, I'm taking the first piece."

Will and the rest of the team joined him at the table and started eating. Soon, stories were being told as they ate and laughter was being shared. They talked about anything they could think of: Leo's newest invention, Will's job at the hospital, Nico's annoying speech teacher. Anything but the team's latest job or upcoming plans. They had made it a rule to never discuss the team's job when they were hanging out. Talking about mass-stealing bubblegum does wonders to kill the good mood.

Leo got up and walked over to the TV in the living room, pizza slice in one hand and soda can in the other. He put the soda can down on the TV stand and used his free hand to turn it on. The blank screen was soon replaced with the image of a dark haired reporter who was at a crime scene. The words 'The Trinket Thief Strikes Again' glared back at them at the bottom of the screen.

"-is one of the stores the infamous Trinket Thief visited last night," the reporter was saying. "This store, like 5 others, was wiped clean of chewing gum; there isn't a single on in stock. As always, there seemed to be no signs of violence, and there are 0 wounded and 0 casualties. The only thing they took was chewing gum, everything else was untouched."

"Here with me is the detective in charge of the Trinket Thief's cases." She turned her head to greet someone off-camera with a smile. The camera soon followed her gaze and moved to show the detective. Her blonde hair was held back in a ponytail, and she was dressed smartly in a grey suit. Her posture was proud and authoritative; Detective Annabeth Chase was certainly a force to be reckoned with.

"Detective Chase, what can you tell us about the case so far?" the reporter asked.

"I am not at liberty to discuss all the details, but they struck late last night, and fortunately no one was harmed in the heist, which is their signature," Detective Chase replied. Her voice, like her expression, was calm and collected. She seemed to have doubts on the OPD's competence, and every word she said was carefully chosen as to not let any information slip to the media that would cause more harm to to their investigation than good. A skill that was expected from the Olympus PD's best detective.

The reporter frowned, obviously not please with the lack of new information, but a tight smile was back on her face in a second. "By 'they' do you mean the Trinket Thief's team, the Half-Bloods?"

This time it was the Detective's turn to frown, but unlike the reporter, she allowed it to stay there. "Yes, but we usually don't condone the use of nicknames or titles when talking about criminals. It encourages them and can lead to groups of admirers forming."

As if on cue, the camera turned away from the two woman momentarily to show the crowd gathered around the enclosed perimeter Olympus PD had set up. There were a couple curious passerbyers here and there, but a majority of the group was made up of the Half-Bloods' "admirers", as the Detective had put it. There were various flashes of cameras and even a couple of signs expressing the people's love and gratitude for the Half-Bloods.

"I guess their fanbase is as hard to stop as the Half-Bloods themselves," the reporter said with a small smirk. Detective Chase scowled slightly and looked like she was about to say something else when someone else came up to the two women.

"Detective Chase, I need your highly valued, _expert_ opinion on something," the new arrival said. He was tall and towered over both Detective Chase and the reporter. His blond hair was cut short, and he was cleanly shaven. His lips were upturned in a sly smile and his blue eyes held the same mischievous glint. He was handsome and, if the small horde of people not so discreetly swooning over him was anything to go by, he must've also been quite charming. Even the scar running from his cheekbone to his jaw did nothing to affect his "golden boy" appearance.

Detective Chse excused herself and left with her partner, Detective Luke Castellan, looking relieved for the excuse to get away from the pesky reporter. Before the reporter could speak again, the screen went black with a soft _click!_ The enthralled group turned to Piper, who had the control in her hand, with equal expressions of disdain.

"Nothing job related, remember?" she said with a scowl. "Which includes the news."

"Aw, come one, Pipes. It was just getting good," Leo wined.

"Let Jackson watch his little detective girlfriend on TV," Nico teased with a smirk. "Look at him, he was practically drooling."

Percy glared at the younger male. "No I wasn't. And she isn't my girlfriend." Though he denied all accounts of drooling, he subtly wiped the corners of his mouth. Just in case.

Nico chuckled lowly and shook his head. He turned back to look at the blank TV screen, and his expression turned serious. "You guys should be more careful. There's been talk around the Underworld that Olympus PD is bringing in the FBI."

Silence fell over the apartments like a heavy blanket. They had stopped eating and everyone took a moment to contemplate Nico's words. The team had been toying with Olympus PD for months now, and honestly it had been easy to evade capture. It hadn't been till Detective Chase and Detective Castellan had been put on the case that the team really had a challenge running from the police. But if they brought in the big guns . . .

"We'll be fine, Nico. Don't worry about. A couple of feds won't be able to stop us," Percy reassured. The cocky smile he donned convinced no one. No matter how hard he tried to, the leader of the Half-Bloods couldn't hide the uneasiness in his green eyes. Maybe Percy was right and they would be fine, or he was wrong and the arrival of the feds would pose a big threat. Either way, one thing was certain- everything was about to change.


End file.
